Kaitlyn Welch

Brooke Owens Fellow, Class of 2019

Rutgers University, Aerospace Engineering, '19

Host Institution: Astranis

Katie Welch is pursuing her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering at Rutgers University. Growing up in a small town in the hills of northwest New Jersey, she was always captivated by the night sky. What started out as curiosity grew into her passion for aerospace as she realized the potential benefits and impact that space could have for life here on Earth and beyond.

As a student at Rutgers, Katie has immersed herself in extracurriculars and projects. She is currently the project lead for her senior design team which focuses on designing, building and testing a stand that is capable of measuring the thrust from a model rocket engine. This past year, she also joined the Rutgers Propulsion Lab rocketry club and the Rutgers University SEDS chapter, the Space Technology Association of Rutgers (STAR). Outside of her engineering projects Katie has a passion for serving her community and mentoring the next generation of students. She has led service-learning alternative break trips focused on food insecurity, homelessness, and education, and she has also served as both an ambassador and mentor for the Honors College.

During the summer after her sophomore year Katie had the opportunity to intern for LinQuest supporting analysis for the Principal DoD Space Advisor. This experience in national security space inspired her to pursue her minor in Critical Intelligence Studies. The following summer she lived out her childhood dream of working for NASA at Langley Research Center where she worked to support analysis of the utilization of the Gateway lunar orbiter.

Following her graduation in May of 2019, Katie will be interning for Astranis Space Technologies in San Francisco, CA.